Returning value from called function in a shell script

Question

I want to return the value from a function called in a shell script. Perhaps I am missing the syntax. I tried using the global variables. But that is also not working. The c

Answer 1

You are working way too hard. Your entire script should be:

if mkdir "$lockdir" 2> /dev/null; then 
  echo lock acquired
else
  echo could not acquire lock >&2
fi

but even that is probably too verbose. I would code it:

mkdir "$lockdir" || exit 1

but the resulting error message is a bit obscure.